Mum with 120 home-cooked dinners in the freezer reveals how to make 50p meals
Martin said some of the tips and tricks on cutting back and how to be thrifty came from fans suggestions after asking on social media and the MSE Forum.1. Set a budget
Creating a budget will help to stretch your budget. Start by working out how much you spent on food over the last three months, then each month you get paid, set aside a certain amount for food.
The cost of living survival guide, from the latest Money Saving Expert newsletter, featured a whopping 90 ways to save.Jenna said all her family meals are “full of veg and goodness.”She stays super organised, writing a detailed shopping list and then stashing her freezer with up to 120 meals at a time.And one of them revealed how you can cook family meals for as little as 23p.
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A BATCH cooking mum-of-two with 120 home-cooked dinners in the freezer has revealed how kids portions are just 50p.Jenna said: “Batch cooking is a way to be prepared but have good sized and healthier portions at a good price.4. Go online
Shopping online is a good and easy way to manage your budget. It can also help to track expenses, whilst also preventing impulse buys.It comes as Martin Lewis fans have shared their tips for saving cash amid a cost of living crisis.
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Her favourite recipes include those by Joe Wicks, Hairy Bikers and Jamie Oliver.Jenna told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk of her incredibly busy household where she not only feeds her two kids but also friends and tradesmen.
The mum believes batch cooking saves “so much money” and “there’s no food waste at all” due to it being frozen.She said each batch will take her between one and three hours to finish depending on what it is she’s making. Some of her weekly go-to meals include a pasta dish, overnight oats, chilli con carne, sweet potato cottage pie, spaghetti bolognese and chicken curry.”All the adult dinner meals I make are £2 to £3 a meal, and the kids portions are 50p to £1 a meal. I love cooking also so this makes all the difference.”2. Plan your meals
Make a list of your main meals for the coming week, including the ingredients you need, and stick to it. Don’t get drawn into offers for things that you don’t need. If you already have some food leftover from the week before, try to see what you can do with that first.Money saving experts at HSBC UK have revealed their top tips to saving cash on your food shop.
How to save cash on your food shop
It’s best to shop on a full stomach so you don’t get tempted. Shopping less often can help you to think about what you buy and it may help you to stick to your budget. She claims kids portions cost as little as 50p and adult portions are just £2.She added how she had a busy work schedule and will work until 9pm three times a week.The Essex hairdresser does her shopping affordably at Aldi or Lidl, then batch cooks up to 20 portions at once.Jenna Dupay, 37, is a batch-cooking champion who has shared her expertise on making healthy meals for a family.
Jenna shares her cookings skills on her instagram account @mrsdupay_aka_mrsbatch.He said: “The response was overwhelming and uplifting – 1,000s replied. We’ve added both suggestions and testimonials to what we had – and hope to keep building it.She added: “Freezing the food is the only way to make it last for me as I tend to cook 10 to 20 portions at one time.”
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The money saving expert has created a huge guide to help people get by as energy bills and other essentials shoot up in price.
